EU visitors witness Dac Lac’s growth
DAC LAC — A European Union delegation, led by Giovanni Favilli, Italian vice ambassador to Viet Nam, has been in the Tay Nguyen (Central Highlands) province of Dac Lac, talking to local people, and gathering first-hand impressions of socio-economic conditions there.
Meeting with them, Nguyen Van Lang, Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee, explained how the lives of the province’s 2 million inhabitants, including 30 per cent ethnic minorities, were steadily improving.
The province built more than 900 classrooms each year, and 83 per cent of its communes now have their own doctors, he said.
Public security was very good, bringing 4,000 foreign visitors to the province in the last four months, he pointed out.
The chairman highlighted Dac Lac’s agricultural achievements, which included becoming the largest coffee-, cotton – and corn-growing province in Viet Nam.
Lang said the province had so far allocated 3,000ha of farm land to residents, with a further 50,000ha of forest land earmarked for ethnic minorities.
In Dao Nghia commune in Dac R’Lap District, the delegation met vegetable and orchard farmers on Thursday, who told them that local officials were supportive of farmers, while education for their children and healthcare too were good.
The EU team met Dieu Lan and Dieu Pet, who were among those who returned after illegally making their way into Cambodia. The two men admitted that they had returned after being disillusioned by the hardship they faced in Cambodia. The district authorities had helped them find their feet again by giving them farm land and access to bank credit, they said.
Last Friday, the delegation met with the provincial Religious Committee. They also met Buddhist, Catholic and Protestant leaders who assured them about the freedom they have to practise their religion and the local government’s efforts to improve their living conditions.
Protestant Pastor Y Ky Eban expressed his displeasure at the falsehoods spread by some bad elements about the condition of people in the Tay Nguyen. — VNS
